


cynosure

by mp3



Category: Naruto
Genre: 00's, 90'S, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Modern Era, Past Relationship(s), narusasu are huge fucking dorks, side pairings, will be updated as the series progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:48:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28726107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mp3/pseuds/mp3
Summary: There are three things which Sasuke knows to be true:1. Naruto is the love of his life,2. He is the love of Naruto's life, and3. Everything is going to be okay.It’s the way things fall apart that leaves Sasuke’s head spinning.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. anytime

**Author's Note:**

> If you saw me post ch 1 and 2 of this 2 days ago: no you didnt
> 
> anyways this chapter is based on [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWzecTzJVBM) song  
> pls enjoy :)

**OCTOBER 1995**

It’s the way things fall apart that leaves Sasuke’s head spinning. Maybe it’s the timing - two days before Naruto’s twenty fourth birthday, exactly one month after their three year anniversary. Maybe it’s the unwavering finality of Naruto’s voice, or the wetness of his cheeks which contrasts his every word as he speaks. Or maybe, just  _ maybe _ , Sasuke thinks, it’s that they were happy. Because they really,  _ really  _ were. 

It doesn’t matter, not anymore, he supposes. Because Sasuke had seen the look in Naruto’s eyes, the crease of his brow, the curl of his lip. It was inconceivably, irrefutably over. 

It’s  _ over _ . 

Sasuke sinks to the floor, grasps the pale carpet between his fingers in some feeble attempt to ground himself. It’s futile. Naruto is gone, and all that’s left is Sasuke’s shattered mirror of a heart and the pregnant silence hanging heavy in their apartment. 

* * *

**JANUARY 2000**

“Happy New Year, baby.”

Sasuke smiles and lets Sai kiss him, cupping the elder’s flushed cheeks as he does so. “What did I say about that, hm?” he whispers against Sai’s lips from beneath him, bare chests pressed against one another beneath tan blankets. 

Sai bites Sasuke’s bottom lip before feigning ignorance, “What do you mean?” he asks innocently, pulling back just enough to be able to look his friend in the eyes. “You’re my baby, are you not?” 

Sasuke pulls him back in until their lips brush, moving his hands to the back of Sai’s neck. “This is a one-time thing.”

“Mm,” Sai hums, “That’s what you said the last two times.”

And, well, Sasuke doesn’t really have an answer for that. Instead, he lets his lips meet Sai’s once more, moving softly together as the fireworks go off just a few blocks away in Times Square. Sai smiles into the kiss before parting from the younger’s lips to move further down his body. He leaves kisses down Sasuke’s neck, marks up his chest on his way down. Sasuke moves his hands once more, now to the back of Sai’s head to fist in his hair. He sighs as Sai takes his soft cock into his mouth. 

“Sai,” he starts, breath catching in his throat as Sai starts sucking gently. “I really should go now,” he manages between breaths. Sai glances up at him from beneath the blankets before detangling himself from Sasuke. Sasuke climbs off of the bed and hunches over in search of his clothes, making his way around the room with the help of the dimly-lit lamp on Sai’s desk. 

“Hey,” Sai speaks into the dark, quiet room. “Would you want to -” he stops himself, pauses to think. 

Sasuke turns to look at him, one leg into his jeans and the other close behind. “What is it, hyung?” It may be dark, but Sasuke can see the inky black of his coworker’s eyes watching him as he pulls the blankets tighter around himself from his position sitting in the middle of the mattress.

“I have this friend,” Sai starts. Sasuke raises his eyebrow, intrigued as he pulls his shirt over his head and reaches for his coat. “He’s opening his own veterinary practice, and he’s having some friends over to celebrate. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me,” he finishes, looking down at his hands where they lie atop the sheets. 

“Like, as your plus one?” Sasuke asks. He supposes it’s not a conversation they have necessarily had yet, but rather something they had skirted around. What are they, anyways? Friends with benefits? Just coworkers? They certainly aren’t dating, Sasuke knows, and he thinks that’s more than fine with both of them. But handsome as he may be, Sasuke isn’t stupid. He knows that Sai has feelings for him, knows it’s unfair to him to keep hanging out only now with the expectation of sex looming above their heads. He knows this. Yet Sai is maybe his only real friend in this whole damned city, and if sleeping together fills him with ‘maybe’s and ‘could-be’s, he’s not quite sure where that leaves them. “Yeah, sure,” he decides instead. “When is it?” he asks. Then, “What do I wear?”

Sai smiles.

* * *

It’s about one week later that Sasuke finds himself walking with Sai from his apartment to that of his friend. Sasuke’s muscles ache in protest, already sore from his morning at the gym. 

“Who is this friend, again?” Sasuke asks, breath coming out in clouds of shallow heat. They’ve been walking for about twenty minutes now, maneuvering their way around throngs of passersby. Sai seems to know where he’s going, but just barely. “Kiba Inuzuka,” he breathes into his hands in an attempt to warm them. Sasuke notes the pink tip of his nose. “He’s a pretty big deal in the world of veterinary medicine. Lots of revolutionary ideas and technologies”

“Sai,” Sasuke starts, sniffling, “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not exactly privy to veterinary practice and the knowledge that comes with it.”

Sai rolls his eyes before turning and stopping at a large set of double doors. Sasuke scans the building up and down. It’s relatively short in comparison to the skyscrapers on either side, but the exterior design in itself screams  _ money _ . An apartment building, he geniously deduces. They enter the building at an easy pace, pausing briefly to greet the doorman as they make their way inside the lobby’s warmth. Sai presses a gloved finger to the elevator call button, stepping forward into the free space. He presses the button for the twelfth floor. 

Sasuke repeatedly opens and shuts his phone deep within his coat pocket. 

“Just know,” Sai starts, voice even as they ascend, “You’ll also be meeting a few of our other friends, so no asshole behavior.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. “You’ve never complained about my asshole behavior before,” he retorts.

“That’s because I tolerate you as a person and you’re good in bed. Don’t be confused.” 

The ding precedes the opening of the doors, and Sai pauses before stepping out. Sasuke follows, looking around at the decor. It’s...homey, but not quaint at all. The wallpaper is a plain beige with a beautiful gold design running floor to ceiling, and as they walk through the hallway, Sasuke notices that the floors are a tan and brown marbled pattern. The  _ tap tap tap _ of their footsteps is the only sound in the entire building, it feels like, until Sai raises his fist to knock on a large chestnut-colored door. Sasuke waits patiently behind him for a few short moments before they hear the slide of a lock and the door opens to reveal a tall and handsome man, presumably Kiba. His t-shirt is wrinkled and tucked into his jeans, a far cry from Sasuke and Sai, who are wearing their slacks and dress shirts, having just come from work. Kiba smiles at them, and it’s all so poetic how the music from inside the apartment swells and releases, the golden undertones of the interior design as warm as the tan of Kiba’s skin and the melted honey of his voice as he greets Sai before pulling him into a hug. Sai is silent, his arms coming up slowly to wrap around the bigger man. Sasuke diverts his gaze to a large white dog at Kiba’s side.

“You must be Sasuke,” he says with a smile once they separate. Sasuke nods, and reaches out his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Kiba, and this is Akamaru,” he finishes, motioning to the dog. Kiba’s own hand meets his halfway to shake, and then he leads the two of them into the apartment. 

Sasuke glances around in awe, his jaw loose in wonder. It briefly crosses his mind that maybe he  _ has  _ heard of Kiba, if only shown by this display of wealth. Sasuke follows Sai and Kiba into the living area, where two women are chatting amongst themselves. One is rather tall and speaks animatedly, waving her hands around and occasionally running them through her long blonde hair. The other is slightly shorter and thinner, with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes which disappear behind a smile as she laughs at something the other said. 

“Sasuke, this is Ino and Hinata,” he says smoothly, motioning to the two women. Sasuke waves in greeting, and they smile at him. 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” says Ino, “Sai just won’t shut up about the guy who’s been rearranging his -” he’s cut off by Hinata’s elbow in her side, a broken gasp leaving Ino’s mouth as her words are cut off. 

“It really is wonderful that you were able to come. And thank you, Sai, for inviting him,” Hinata finishes for her friend with a soft smile. 

“Would you like to come to the kitchen? Naruto is pouring some wine, if you’d like some.” Kiba interjected, leading the way further into the apartment. 

Alarm bells go off in Sasuke’s head. How many Japanese men are there in New York City? Now take that number, and find how many are named  _ Naruto _ . Sasuke’s heart pounds as he follows. He is simultaneously feather-light and heavy, floating his way to the kitchen behind the Sai, Kiba, Hinata, and Ino. He peers around the corner, sees a tall man with his back turned to him, pouring wine into glasses next to the sink. Sasuke holds his breath. 

“Baby, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, Naruto.” Kiba puts a hand on Naruto’s hip and spins him around slowly, whether it’s because it’s slow in reality or because Sasuke’s world has frozen on its axis, he can’t be sure. 

Because standing there, right in front of him, is his Naruto. 

* * *

“Are you okay?” Sai comes up to him a few hours later, pulling him from his mostly-listening conversation with Ino and Hinata. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Sasuke smiles bitterly. In a way, he had. This man was not his Naruto.  _ His  _ Naruto, with the spiky blonde hair that fell boyishly into his eyes, who was almost worryingly thin, who wore oversized t-shirts and ripped jeans. This Naruto was the impostor, the cookie-cutter version with his hair pulled up off of his forehead, a bold-patterned button-down and this beautiful too-big apartment and -

And Kiba. 

Sasuke simply shakes his head. “I’m good, Sai. Just tired, I guess.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop taking those late night walks? You’re going to get mugged, I swear.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sasuke mumbled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He glances over to Naruto and their eyes meet briefly before Naruto leans in to whisper something to Kiba. He disappears to the living room. Sasuke feels Sai’s eyes on him as he follows.

“Can I help you?” Naruto asks, fiddling with a book he’s pulled from the shelf without so much as turning to look at Sasuke. 

Sasuke takes a few long strides to meet him where he stands, resists the urge to spin him around, resists the urge to push him against the bookshelf and kiss him stupid. Old habits die hard. 

The blonde flips to a (random) page and cocks his head slightly in annoyance. “I  _ said _ , can I -”

“What are you  _ doing _ ?” Sasuke hisses, careful as to not be overheard by those in the next room.

“I’m reading, Sasuke. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this brick in my hand but it’s called a  _ book  _ -” 

“Cut the bullshit, Naruto, the fucking book is upside down,” Sasuke bites back.

Naruto shuts the book between his fingers and spins around to finally come face-to-face with the man he once loved. “What are  _ you  _ doing, huh? Marching into  _ my  _ apartment with  _ my  _ boyfriend and our dog and acting like -”

“Acting like what, Naruto? Like I don’t know you? What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, asshole, maybe don’t make me hide from my boyfriend and my friends the fact that  _ we used to date _ .” 

Sasuke pauses, sighs, takes a step back. “Naruto, I can’t  _ make  _ you do anything. You’re playing along, so why? When you could just as easily have told them at any time,  _ hey this is the man I used to think I was going to marry _ .”

Naruto just stares into his eyes for a long, long second. It bothers Sasuke, reminds him of the way Naruto would look at him during any other domestic dispute they’d had over the years. He takes a deep breath in, and opens his mouth to speak, and - 

“Everything okay in here?” Sai asks, peeking in from the doorway to the kitchen. Sasuke whirls around and Naruto freezes, like two deer caught in the headlights of a semi. Sasuke distantly wonders how much Sai may have heard. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine, we were just getting to know one another,” Naruto says with a smile, easily restoring his cheery disposition. 

“...if you say so,” says Sai, turning to join the others back in the kitchen. Naruto brushes past Sasuke as he follows, and Sasuke wonders what exactly he did in a previous life to deserve these kinds of circumstances. 

* * *

“So, Sasuke, what do you do?” Ino inquires curiously, eyes bright. 

“Like, for work?” Sasuke asks politely.

“Sasuke is a photographer. One of the best, actually. He just moved to New York recently, but he already is making a name for himself.” Sai interjects with a proud smile. Sasuke smiles shyly. 

“Oh, so you’re not from the city? Where are you from, then?” Hinata pours himself another glass of wine. 

“Baltimore, actually,” Sasuke holds his glass out for another as well.

“Oh, how funny!” Kiba exclaims as he and Naruto make their way over to them from where they had been conversing on the couch. “Naruto is from Baltimore, too. But he moved here about four years ago. That’s when we met,” he smiles pleasantly. 

Sasuke meets Naruto’s unwavering gaze. Neither smile. Naruto doesn’t look nearly as caught off guard as Sasuke feels, not even surprised in the least. Sasuke wonders briefly if Naruto had known that he would be coming. 

“Well, it’s getting late,” Sai says suddenly, and Sasuke nearly jumps. “We should probably go,” he adds.

“Oh, okay!” Kiba glances at the clock on the wall, reading well past 1 in the morning. “Sai, Sasuke, take some food with you. We made way too much for just the six of us.” He pauses, then, “It’s a shame Sakura couldn’t join us tonight, she would have loved to meet you.”

The blood drains from Sasuke’s face. “Sakura? Sakura Haruno?”

He sees the others exchange confused looks, “You know her?” Hinata asks.

“We’re...familiar.” Sasuke settles for as he stands. Sai reaches for his hand once they’ve donned their coats and scarves. Sasuke doesn’t resist. Everyone bids their goodbyes, and Naruto gives him a loose handshake and a “nice meeting you.” 

The breeze is frigid but welcome as Sasuke and Sai step out onto the sidewalk. Sasuke pulls his hand away from Sai’s as he adjusts his scarf. “Well, my apartment is this way.” 

“You don’t want me to walk you?” Sai asks, almost bewildered. 

“Nah, I just need a nice walk. I’ll text you when I’m home, yeah?” 

“Sasuke, come on, it's nearly two in the morning,” Sai protests.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassures him. 

Sai just eyes him warily before taking a few steps back and waving reluctantly before spinning on his heel and waving down a cab. Upon seeing his friend enter the taxi safely, Sasuke begins the trek back to his own apartment, his head spinning. 

If any of the others had noticed him acting strange, they hadn’t said anything. Except for Sai, maybe, but even then he had just played it off as exhaustion, understandable with his busy work schedule. Regardless, he had just lied to the only friend he had in the whole goddamn city, and if he had hoped to make anymore tonight, that expectation had been dashed with the appearance of Naruto. 

Naruto, who had  _ loved  _ him. Naruto, who had seen him at his worst and loved him still.  _ His  _ Naruto. Except that Naruto wasn’t his anymore, hadn’t been his for a long time now, and would never be his again. That Naruto had bid him goodbye with the slam of a door, a weak “don’t go” dying on the Uchiha’s lips. 

He pulls out his phone to shoot Sakura a text. 

**Sasuke  
** we need to talk.


	2. no choir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke swirls the champagne in his glass, watches as it goes around once, twice, seven times, but not enough to forget. The sweetness coating the inside of his mouth makes his stomach churn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this is the last pre-written, half-edited chapter. we're gonna get more into the actual plot and better characterization in ch 3, i promise :)   
> this ch was inspired by [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AexrAvyJjJY) :p

The small cafe is busy around him, but Sasuke sits still. It’s been two days since his encounter with Naruto, and he hasn’t been able to get the man off of his mind. The bounce of his wavy hair, the stretch of his lips in those oh-so-frequent smiles that make Sasuke  _ ache _ . It doesn’t matter, not anymore, not when Naruto is so obviously happy where he is without Sasuke. His dreams from the two nights prior were flooded with memories of their time together - their fights and their mindlessly happy moments, their - 

_ “Sasuke?”  _

_ It’s a hot summer day, the kind where you strip off every piece of clothing as socially acceptable and lie on the cool wooden floor of your home all day with the fan pointed straight at you. It finds Sasuke and Naruto strewn across the floor of Sasuke’s dorm room in nothing but their boxers. Sasuke turns his head to look at his boyfriend, where he lies on his chest.  _

_ “Mm,” he hums, voice soft and muddled by the sleep that threatened to take over his body, neither question nor answer.  _

_ “I love you,” says Naruto against Sasuke’s bare skin, tracing patterns on his breast with the tip of his finger.  _

_ If Sasuke hadn’t been awake before, he certainly is now. He feels the quickening of his heartbeat in his chest, and knows that Naruto can feel it against his cheek. How could he not? “You,” he starts, nervous, “Love me?” _

_ “Sorry,” Naruto amends, sitting up. Sasuke follows. “Was that weird? I feel like that was weird.” He averts his gaze to the floor, and Sasuke nearly swoons at the redness dusted across his face.  _

_ “No,” Sasuke says slowly, carefully,. “That was, like, the opposite of weird.” Naruto meets his gaze hesitantly and cracks a small smile. This time, Sasuke does swoon. “I...I love you too,” he manages to get out between his racing thoughts and the pounding of his heart.  _

_ Naruto’s smile broadens as he throws his arms around Sasuke’s neck. Sasuke lets out a huff of breath as they hit the floor, but neither seems to mind. Naruto presses kisses to his pink cheeks, to his forehead, his brows, his chin, until finally meeting his mouth in a slow, languid, passionate kiss. Sasuke sighs into it.  _

_ “Sasuke,” murmurs Naruto against his lips. “Sasuke,” he whispers once more, and Sasuke smiles against his lips. “Sasuke.”  _

_ Something in Naruto’s tone makes him pull away, and when he does, they’re no longer in Sasuke’s dorm room, but in their shared apartment.  _

_ “We can make this work,” Sasuke hears, and while it sounds like his voice, he can’t remember a time where he’d sounded so  _ broken _.  _

_ Naruto simply shakes his head, a sad smile on his lips. “If we could have,” he starts, and Sasuke’s struggles to maintain his composure. “Then we wouldn’t be here, talking about this  _ again _.”  _

Again _. It’s the way Naruto says the word that makes Sasuke feel small. Even now, Sasuke feels fifteen, feels impossibly broken, feels like it will never get better. He puts his head in his hands. Naruto walks over to the couch and takes a seat beside him. Sasuke turns to look at him. Naruto is talking, mouthing words at him, but Sasuke can’t hear anything at all, can’t hear past the rush of his blood in his head and the ticking of the clock on the wall. He thinks of promises of eternity, declarations of love, every fight and every kiss, burying his head back in his hands.  _

_ When he looks back up, Naruto is gone.  _

“Sasuke.”

It’s Sakura who pulls Sasuke from his reverie. Her pink hair is longer than he has ever remembered it being, pulled off of her forehead by a black headband. She’s not wearing much to combat the chill of a New York January, but Sasuke supposes Sakura has never been one to sacrifice her sense of fashion for comfort. 

“I can’t say I’m surprised to find you in New York,” she says, almost teasing. Sasuke swirls his coffee around in its cup and stares at Sakura. 

“Missed you at Kiba’s last night,” says Sasuke, breaking eye contact to stare at the cup in his hand. 

“You think I wanted to stick around for that shitshow? I wasn’t exactly eager to witness your reunion with your ex-lover.” Sakura says, laughing softly. Sasuke shoots her a glare. “Relax, I was out with some friends from work. We ended up staying out way later than we had anticipated.” 

Sasuke eyes Sakura warily, unsure of whether he could believe her or not. On one hand, this was an old, old friend of his. There was a time when Sakura had been Sasuke’s best friend, even. But on the other hand, Sakura was fiercely loyal to Naruto and had made that abundantly clear in the weeks and months following their breakup. First and foremost, Sakura was, and always would be, Naruto’s best friend. The unexpected burning of that bridge had hurt nearly as much as Naruto’s slamming of the door. 

“He’s happy, you know,” Sakura says, to break the silence more than anything. Sasuke resists the urge to roll his eyes. As if it hadn’t been fucking plain as day. 

“Yeah,” he settles for, instead. “I know.”

It’s silent for a few moments more before Sakura speaks up, “So then... why did you want to meet with me? If you know he’s here, if you know he’s happy.” 

Sasuke pauses to think. What exactly had he been expecting? Some insight, maybe, as to who Naruto is now. Context, even, in regards to how he had ended up here, with Kiba. Whether he had regretted leaving as much as Sasuke had regretted staying, at times. “I’m...not sure,” says Sasuke. “Answers, maybe.”

Sakura leans forward just enough to place her elbows on top of the table. “Why don’t you ask me,” he starts, “The one question you actually want answered?”. 

Sasuke swallows. 

* * *

The months following are...strange, to say the least. The time Sasuke doesn’t spend working or exercising, he’s with Sai. The time he doesn’t spend with Sai, well...

He spends it with Naruto. 

Not alone, of course. Kiba and Sai almost always join them, and when one of them is unavailable they’re often replaced by Sakura, Ino, Hinata, or all three. Between work and other engagements, it’s a rare day that all seven of them are able to get together, but they manage. Oftentimes, they end up at a bar down the street from Sasuke’s apartment, chatting and sipping drinks until early hours of the morning. Sasuke grows close to the others, closer than he could have ever anticipated. And if his presence bothers Naruto at all, well, he doesn’t ever mention it. 

In fact, they interact as if they truly had been strangers meeting for the first time that night. In a way, Sasuke supposes they were. Five years is a long, long time, and a lot has changed. Sasuke learns that Naruto is an artist. Not as well-established as he had always wanted to be, but Sasuke knows he works hard and long hours for being so young. He learns that Naruto is now quite the fashionista, keeping up with all of the premier designer lines and their releases. It’s adorable, the faces he makes when he talks about something he’s passionate about, be it clothes or art or Kiba or - 

Sometimes Sasuke catches himself staring at things he’s not supposed to - the markings on Naruto’s cheeks, his wide cupid’s bow, or the wrinkles by his eyes when he smiles big and wide. Just to make sure they’re still there, he tells himself. Sometimes, Naruto will catch him staring. He never says anything about it, never makes him feel badly about it, but stares back long enough so that Sasuke knows that Naruto knows. There are times when it’s just the two of them - when Sai is in the bathroom, or Ino is on the dancefloor, or Kiba is grabbing drinks - that Sasuke can almost pretend like things are as they once were. 

(And if Naruto ever feels it too - the spark, the warmth, the bright heat of the past casting a shadow over the present - well, he never says anything about that, either.)

* * *

It’s a Friday night in March that Sasuke gets a text from Ino. 

**Ino**   
party at Kiba’s tomorrow night?

Sasuke hesitates before sending his reply. 

**Sasuke** **  
** you know im always down

He drums his fingers against the wooden surface of the bar and sips his beer as he waits for Ino to respond. 

**Ino  
** see you at 8

And Sasuke doesn’t think anything of it, doesn’t think even a thing is off from normal. The seven of them are going to get drunk and watch movies, and if he ends up going home with Sai that night then even better. 

It’s only standing at the door of Kiba’s apartment that Sasuke realizes something is very, very wrong. He and Sai had run into Sakura and Ino in the lobby, and something about Sakura’s demeanor set off alarm bells in his head. Sasuke had simply joined them in the elevator and tuned into their conversation without much of a second thought. 

Upon exiting the elevator on the twelfth floor, Sakura joins Sasuke in walking behind Ino and Sai, who are chatting about some movie that they had just seen at the theater. Sakura slows her pace as they move through the hallway, and Sasuke turns to look at her as they approach the large wooden door. 

“Everything okay?” he asks, brow creased in mild worry. They stop behind the two as the Ino knocks firmly. 

“Sasuke…” she starts, and Sasuke already doesn’t like this. Her tone reminds him of the time he had drank too much at a college party and Sakura had woken up to him sleeping on the bench outside of his dormitory building. It feels tense, like he’s about to get scolded, but not quite. He can’t place his finger on Sakura’s tone. “There’s something you should know - about the party, I mean.” 

Sasuke cocks a brow, his heart loud with anxiety. He can smell food from the inside, can hear the clinking of glasses, the chatter of more than the three others he had been expecting on the other side of the door. And as the door swings open, and the golden living room comes into view, Sasuke understands. 

Because on the doorframe to the kitchen, high above their heads but low enough to grab the attention of the guests, is a sparkling banner that reads  _ ‘We’re Engaged!’ _

His stomach drops. There are probably thirty people in the apartment, at least, and at the center of it all…

Naruto. Naruto and Kiba. 

He floats his way over to the couple, following the others. Ino grins and pulls the two into a hug. Sai and Sakura join. Sasuke watches.

“Congratulations,” he says, sounding far away to even his own ears. 

Naruto looks at him, and nods. 

* * *

Sasuke feels sick, needs to escape, but can’t find a good enough reason to step out. Hinata approaches him with a warm smile and a glass of champagne in each hand. Sasuke accepts one gratefully. 

“This was unexpected,” says Sasuke, staring at the drink in his hand.

“Ah, not really,” and there’s something sad in the way that Hinata says it, something lost in the way she looks across the room at the couple. “They’ve been together for three years, friends for four, and living together for one. This is just the logical next step.” 

_ Logical _ , huh? Sasuke knew that the facts would make sense under any lens, yet he can’t seem to wrap his head around it. He looks at Naruto, who is talking animatedly with whom Sasuke assumes is somebody he works with.

He looks at Naruto, long and forlorn. If he spins the reel right in his brain, he can remember when it was them - when Naruto forgot to cover the blender and got kale smoothie all over the kitchen cabinets; when they pulled through the McDonalds drive thru and they couldn’t even stop laughing long enough to order his food. Does he want to let that go? Of course not. But Naruto deserves to be happy. They both do. And in Naruto’s case, it’s beyond evident that Kiba is the person who could accomplish that better than anyone. 

Sasuke swirls the champagne in his glass, watches as it goes around once, twice, seven times, but not enough to forget. The sweetness coating the inside of his mouth makes his stomach churn, and suddenly he is hyper aware of his every surrounding. He is increasingly superfluous, a feeling he hasn’t been subject to in years. He sets his glass down on the table next to him, and makes a beeline for the door. So what if he’ll never have Naruto?

He doesn’t look back.

* * *

“Sasuke!” Sai shouts from down the hall, still holding the door to the apartment open. “ _ Sasuke! _ ” Sai curses as he closes the door, walking quickly to catch up with the younger. “Where are you going?” he pulls on Sasuke’s jacket sleeve and the two come to a stop in the middle of the hallway, just a few steps from the elevator lobby. Sasuke doesn’t turn to look at him. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” he says gruffly before correcting himself. A misshapen smile is glued to his face as he finally turns around. “Go back to the party.” 

“I’m not letting you go home alone like this,” says Sai. Then, “Are you sick?” he asks, pressing his hand to the Sasuke’s forehead worriedly. 

“I’m fine, really,” he lies, moving to continue on his path lest the heaviness behind his eyes decide to spill at any moment. 

“At least let me come with you,” Sai says, and there’s something, either in his voice or his request, that makes him give in. 

“Okay,” he says, relaxing his posture and removing his arm from Sai’s grasp. “Okay.”

* * *

_ Naruto meets Sasuke’s gaze and something in Sasuke sparks alive,  _ wondering _. Sasuke smiles at him, small but genuine, and Naruto smiles back. Ino launches into a work story, and the moment is over.  _

“You love him, don’t you?” Sai says over the gentle hum of the taxi engine. 

Sasuke starts. “W-what?”

“Naruto. I could tell from the moment you saw him, you know. You’re not very discreet.” He finishes, almost shy in his confession. 

Sasuke is hesitant to answer.  _ Does  _ he love Naruto? There is no question that he did, at some point, see himself on Naruto’s arm at  _ their  _ engagement party. But times change, as do people, and in this case both have passed their date of expiry. At first glance, one would think that Sasuke’s feelings for Naruto are simply residual feelings of old love long lost. 

Sasuke looks out the window and sighs. “Yeah,” he half-whispers. “I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/constructive criticism are always appreciated <3 not sure when next chapter will be up, but stay updated on [tumblr](54turn.tumblr.com) or [twitter](twitter.com/mp3twts)

**Author's Note:**

> as always, constructive criticism and comments are always welcome.  
> come talk to me on [tumblr](54turn.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/mp3twts) :)


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